Mittal Steel Will Not Vote On Arcelor Offer

Mittal Steel announced here April 21 that it will discuss its hostile bid for rival steelmaker Arcelor at a May 9 general shareholders meeting but that it will not be put to a vote. "These items of the agenda will be voted upon in an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders the date of which is expected to be announced following the opening of the tender period for the mixed cash and exchange offer for the outstanding share capital and equity securities of Arcelor," Mittal said.

The shareholders circular on the Arcelor offer will not be made available at the May 9 meeting as announced earlier because "the offer document has not been formally approved yet by the applicable regulators", the company said.

Mittal's 18.6 billion euro (US$22.9 billion) offer for Arcelor, which was announced at the end of January, has sparked concern in Luxembourg, Madrid and Paris although the Belgian government has not openly said whether it is in favor or against the deal.

On April 19, Mittal Steel chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said he expects to receive market regulators' verdict on his company's bid for Arcelor in the next two weeks. Because Arcelor is traded in Luxembourg, Brussels, Paris and Madrid, Mittal's bid to acquire the group requires the approval of regulatory authorities in the four countries.